ABOUT FLC

The Filmmakers Legal Clinic (FLC) is housed at Cardozo Law School's Center for Visual Advocacy (CVA) and sits at the intersection of film, law, and social justice. It was created in 2011 and initially called the Indie Film Clinic.

ABOUT CARDOZO

Located in the heart of New York City, Cardozo Law was founded in 1976 and named for celebrated Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo. Over the past forty plus years, it has developed a reputation for pioneering social justice legal publications and fostering an inclusive environment for students from all identities, faiths, and cultural backgrounds. In addition to being a leader in intellectual property law--it is ranked #13 by U.S. News and World Report--Cardozo is also the only East Coast law school with a legal clinic for aspiring filmmakers.

Our Work

ADVOCACY INITIATIVES

  • Client Representation

    FLC provides tailored, pro bono, individual representation to independent filmmakers.

  • Legal Trainings

    FLC trains filmmakers, providing both broad legal overviews as well as in-depth education.

  • Pop Up Clinics

    FLC sets up short-term shop with our partners, where student legal interns meet with filmmakers and discuss their immediate legal needs.

  • FLC Film Series

    FLC shows client films, hosts panel discussions, offers interactive events, and leads post-screening Q&As.

COMMUNITY

OUR TEAM

Director

Michelle Greenberg-Kobrin is an Associate Clinical Professor of Law at Cardozo Law School, where she teaches and directs the Filmmakers Film Clinic, which provides pro bono legal services to filmmakers and video journalists as well as training on legal issues to filmmakers in the United States and around the world. She is also the director of the Center for Visual Advocacy and the Founding Director of the Program on Leadership at the Heyman Center for Corporate Governance. Previously, Professor Greenberg-Kobrin served as Dean of Students and Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School. Michelle teaches in the areas of intellectual property, transactional law, corporations, negotiation, and leadership. Prior to her appointment at Columbia Law School, Professor Greenberg-Kobrin was a corporate and securities lawyer at Arnold & Porter, LLP. As a leading film lawyer, Professor Greenberg-Kobrin has lectured at film festivals around the world on issues related to copyright, production, distribution and licensing. She received both her BA and JD from Columbia University.

Clinical Fellow

Liza Schaeffer is the Clinical Fellow of the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law’s Filmmakers Legal Clinic. She was formerly Senior Counsel for Broadway Technology (now a part of Bloomberg) where she oversaw all commercial contracting, information security and internal compliance matters. Before going in-house, Liza was a member of the Salans/Dentons intellectual property team and advised clients in the luxury, fashion, beauty, e-commerce and start-up sectors. A native French speaker, Liza was also an active member of Dentons’ French desk, a special cross-border practice group composed of bilingual, French-speaking lawyers. She has taught international trade courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology, is active in her local community school board. Her areas of professional expertise include copyright, trademark, licensing and distribution deals, privacy and cybersecurity. She studied politics and French at the University of Virginia before earning her law degree from Cardozo.

PARTNERS + FRIENDS

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